


Becoming Familiar

by Cuzosu



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, cat!Jango, prompt: black cat, prompt: wizard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-23 17:44:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16163771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuzosu/pseuds/Cuzosu
Summary: Obi-Wan was having one hell of a day when he met the stray cat...who'd just been hit by a car. Good thing he knew a few healing spells.Jango wasn't exactly socially acceptable and he didn't really get along with Anakin, but since Obi-Wan had no intention of wandering into the limelight and his brother'd been particularly annoying lately, those were traits the wizard found more endearing than obnoxious.(Or: Author joined a challenge group and the 'black cat' prompt bit her almost literally. Who knew Jango as a cat familiar would be so amazing?)





	Becoming Familiar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShaeTiann](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaeTiann/gifts).



> Gifting this to Shae, who agreed to help me keep this from turning into another sprawling monster series. It will still be a series, but hopefully I'll retain some sanity during the process. 
> 
> Beta credits to: ShaeTiann, jynx, norcumi, and sanerontheinside.

Obi-Wan cradled his phone between head and shoulder as he unlocked his front door. “Padme, I appreciate the thought, but no. I most emphatically  _ do not  _ want anything to do with the limelight. It would keep me from helping as much as I do.” He slipped inside and locked the door behind him, heading for the kitchen sink. Better safe than sorry, with some of the materials he handled for work. “You can invite me to the informal wedding, but I’d rather avoid the pomp and ceremony.”

“It would mean a lot to both of us if you were there, Obi-Wan,” she tried. “We’ve only just started planning it, so you’ll have plenty of time to make a final decision.”

He rubbed his temple; a headache was one more thing he didn’t need right now. “Fine. I’ll think about it. Now, I just got home, so I’m going to clean up, eat something, and unwind.”

“Full meal instead of just toast?” prodded his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

“Not if you harp on it,” he growled back.

“Okay, okay, I’ll let you go. For now.” Laughter colored her words.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Talk to you later, Padme.”

“I’ll call you again tomorrow,” she told him, then hung up.

Kenobi set his phone down on the counter and washed his hands. He was still drying them when it happened.

Tires squealed and someone swore so loudly he could hear them inside; the redhead looked up just in time to see a large black cat dodge the first car and get clipped by the second...which looked to have swerved specifically to hit it. The wizard scowled and cast a minor curse on the driver in question with a flick of his fingers━just enough to get him pulled over and ticketed a few times in close succession━then pulled out a little meat he’d been saving for later and spelled it into small pieces.

Outside, the ginger paced calmly to a spot near the cat. Finding it was easy, if only because it left a blood trail when it rushed for cover in the bushes. Kenobi stopped out of range and eased down, sitting with legs crossed. He set the plate down closer to the cat than to him, then deliberately looked away as he talked.

“I’ve seen you around before, but you’re usually careful enough drivers don’t get a shot at you. Wonder what had you distracted today.” The one-sided conversation wandered naturally over two more topics before the wizard felt whiskers on his hand. He glanced down without moving his head, just in case the cat was still spooked. “Don’t suppose you’d let me check the wound?”

The cat sighed like it understood him and emerged fully from the bushes to assess plate and food. It watched him as it ate, then flicked its ears to the side and moved to sit beside his knee, still staring at him. “Mrrt.” That tail hit his leg with a  _ thwap _ which could have been heard across the yard.

Obi-Wan smiled faintly. “Hell of a day,” he mused aloud. “Do you mind coming inside? I can spell the wound closed easier there.”

Gold eyes narrowed like the cat had caught his lie, but when the wizard swore on his magic he intended no harm, it followed him inside. There was a sharp intelligence in those eyes; perhaps the cat was of a magical bloodline?

They entered and Obi-Wan caught the cat’s flinch when he started to swing the door shut, so he kept talking. “I don’t know about you, but I prefer privacy when I’m working magic.” Yes, indeed, from the way those eyes narrowed and the stare intensified, there was intelligence behind that feline shape. It clearly understood what he was saying. 

Kenobi considered the cat for a moment. “You know...if you want to rest here afterward, there’s plenty of room on the bed or you could take the couch.” He didn’t know why he was offering. Loneliness, perhaps, although why ask a cat instead of a human…? Obi-Wan shook off his thoughts. “Do me a favor, though; keep this secret well?”

With a careful wave of his hand through the air above the cat, the wizard let his magic flow. It clearly startled the feline all over again; the big creature leaped away immediately, but only so far as the back of an office chair. There was a low growl rumbling in the back of its throat, but it was ready to fight instead of flee. 

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but chuckle. “I like your attitude,” he told the cat. “Before you start clawing, though, check your wounds.”

The cat tilted its head slightly; its eyes widened as it felt the difference pre- and post-magic. “Mrrow?” 

Biting back a smirk, the redhead asked, “Anything else I can help you with? No fleas or ticks, I hope?”

“Mrrrrr.” The cat hopped lightly to the floor and gave him a  _ look,  _ then deliberately rolled over. 

“Good to know.” Shaking his head, the wizard acknowledged that the cat had one hell of a personality━it was charming to him, but society probably wouldn’t think so━and was quite obviously male. Flashing him might or might not have been intentional; the cat was clearly brazen enough for it to have been on purpose, but who knew if even an intelligent cat cared about modesty? He brushed his thoughts away as unimportant. “Do you have a name, or should I suggest some until you decide one works for you?”

“Mrrt.” The tom butted his head against the nearest boot━the wizard thought maybe it was a sign of gratitude, rather than typical feline affection━and led the way into the rest of the house.

In the kitchen, the cat eyed alphabet magnets curiously, then glanced at the human. 

Obi-Wan smiled faintly. “I deal with a lot of magic. Ouija boards are more dangerous than magnets and a fridge. Electricity can sometimes be a good barrier, after all, and using protective wood for a ouija board would only result in a toy.”

The cat’s ears rose in surprise. One suspiciously short vocalization━he didn’t dare call it a chirp, as the tom would no doubt be displeased if likened to a bird━later, black front paws rose. 

Not even five minutes after the cat had led him to his fridge, the wizard stared at his rearranged magnets. “So your name is Jango Fett?” He bit his tongue to keep from remarking on the last name, even if it was an unusual trait in a cat. “Nice to meet you.”

When the cat thumped him with that emotive tail as he went past, Obi-Wan decided to take it as the feline version of companionably slugging a friend or acquaintance in the shoulder. Jango seemed like that kind of tom; not particularly easy with affection unless he counted you as kin.

  
  
  


Anakin Skywalker entered his adopted brother’s house unannounced and found himself under attack by something with excruciatingly sharp claws. “Son of a bitch!” he yelped, hopping sideways into a wall. Flailing arms didn’t exactly help  _ avoid  _ further damage, but neither was he suffering fresh neck wounds. “Obi-Wan,  _ what the hell?!”  _ Eyes wide, curly hair falling into his face, he insisted, “That’s not a ward and you don’t have a pet!”

The redhead took in the scene at a glance as he entered the domicile behind the brunet; he sighed and shook his head at their antics. “Anakin Skywalker, meet Jango Fett. He’s new to the house, but apparently territorial. If I’d realized, I’d have gone through the door ahead of you, but you’re the first person I’ve had over this week. Jango, this is my brother, Anakin.”

Gold eyes pierced the tall young man. It must have been strange, being assessed so thoroughly by a cat, but it was a very  _ Kenobi  _ trait to find just the right friends and associates to bemuse, unnerve, or annoy absolutely everyone. “Right, so, anyway━”

Obi-Wan felt an already long day stretching out further and bit back a groan. How his brother missed that the tom was intelligent, he didn’t know.  _ I pity Padme his social mishaps.  _ The urge to bury his face in his hands came close to overwhelming his control, probably because of a long history of having to cover for his brother before she met either of them.

Jango hissed at Anakin and, when the humans sat down, claimed the back of the couch specifically to sprawl partly over the wizard in a blatant show of possession.

Resigned to petty human-feline squabbling for the time being, Obi-Wan put his own emotions aside and sat back to listen.

  
  
  


The tom stayed, despite Anakin and the rivalry they’d started for his affection. Obi-Wan had to make sure there were no less than two different exits open at all times, but the cat stayed. He was a pushy feline, though, and the intelligence Kenobi had wondered about was evident in their daily life. They weren’t always together━Jango made it clear he had his own priorities━but the fifth time he let himself in to find the black cat on his brother’s shoulder, Anakin blurted, “Okay, I’m serious, I have to know this time: what is the deal with the cat using you as a  _ perch,  _ Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan turned his head to look at the cat and found himself nose to nose with Jango, staring back at him. “I haven’t asked him yet,” was the redhead’s bland rejoinder. 

Anakin sputtered, arms flailing about. “How are you supposed to ask a cat what the hell it’s thinking?!”

Another shared glance. “Anakin,” the wizard said gently, “I do magic. You know that.” The younger man did a good fish impression, however unintentional. “But I didn’t have to use magic for him to tell me his name; he used my fridge magnets to spell it out for me.”

“I…. He….  _ What?!” _ Skywalker lunged, hand outstretched.

“Really, Anakin,” sighed the older human. “This is undignified.” He dodged his adopted brother’s attempt to haul him bodily away from the cat; Jango, far from being scared, merely braced himself against Obi-Wan’s head and sank claws in to keep from falling. “Anyway, I think he might have a fae bloodline. Some sort of magic, at least, because he’s highly intelligent.” When the cat’s tail bopped him upside the opposite ear, the wizard addressed his feline companion. “I was going to talk to you about my theory, Jango; I just didn’t know how to bring it up and sometimes that can be a sensitive topic.”

Jango snorted his opinion of that, tail swishing over Kenobi’s back. He was clearly unimpressed with the logic.

“Okay, I apparently should have taken into account that this is  _ you,”  _ Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, “and you’ve got that  _ don’t care  _ attitude as well as utter shamelessness.”

“Mrr rrrt,” came the cat’s retort. Smug? Jango? Nah, couldn’t be.

Anakin rubbed his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m seeing this,” he muttered.

“I  _ can  _ believe he just told me, ‘Damn straight,’ but, then, I’ve been cohabiting with him.”

“Always the big words,” grumbled the brunet, but he started to smile. “Sorry, I think I’m overreacting. You have a roommate. Jango, it’s nice to know you better? Since we’ve already met.” A thought struck him and he winced. “Uh, sorry to you, too, because I’ve talked about you like you weren’t here or smart, and━”

“If I don’t cut you off here, Anakin, you’re going to embarrass us all,” grinned the redhead. “Well, maybe not Jango; that shameless thing, remember?”

“Next time I’ll bring Padme,” promised the brunet, beaming. “She’s better with words than either of us.”

“Speak for yourself,” scoffed Kenobi, elbowing his brother. 

Jango couldn’t tell if it was meant as teasing, but given that his human roommate had explained himself to a cat before he knew Jango could even understand him, the tom had cause to believe Obi-Wan’s diplomacy skills were considerable.

Skywalker left, a cheery farewell echoing lightly in the hall behind him. It was three weeks before they saw him again.

  
  
  


Two months into their cohabitation━a mere five days after Anakin’s latest visit━Jango came back covered in bite wounds, supported on both sides by mismatched adolescent toms. Obi-Wan was outside at the time, tending his garden; his wards pinged an alert of newcomers on the property and a wounded ally, but no hostile intent.

It was hard to see in the waning light, but the newcomers were also cats. The brindle noted him assessing them, eyed the door meaningfully, and purred.

“Well, that’s nicer than Jango usually is about his demands,” sighed the wizard. He dusted his hands off on his pants as he moved to the door. “If you’ll get him at least heading into my work room, I need to wash up before I heal him.”

The second cat, an orange tiger striped one, joined the purr. Neither so much as hesitated to assist the big, black tom between them. 

_ It’s enough to make a wizard wonder if they’re related,  _ Obi-Wan thought he opened the door. “Work room’s that way,” he gestured, “and smells of concentrated magic.”

They separated long enough for the cats to pace slowly through the indicated doorway and for Kenobi to wash his hands; the redhead was quick but thorough, because magic was not a substitute for good hygiene. 

On the solid oak desk were a large cat bed and a clear space; Jango wasn’t the first to have remarked on the wizard’s compulsive tidiness. Obi-Wan pulled down a washable mat to cover the wood. The healing kit was located on the floor, hidden among the briefcases and loose files between filing cabinet and desk, on the assumption that if he ever direly needed it, he might not be able to stand. In short order, Jango was placed gently on the mat and the healing kit set beside him; the two young cats hunkered down on either side to observe.

“Let’s see how bad it is, hm?” murmured the ginger, carding fingers carefully through fur. 

Jango’s amber eyes slipped shut, a huff escaping him. Safety━true safety━was rare, but this quirky wizard with his specifically keyed wards offered it. 

Healing went quickly, a tad brusque but thorough. Both adolescent cats scent marked Kenobi afterward, purring their gratitude. Intelligent eyes took in the way he eschewed a wand, too, but tactfully ignored it for the time being. 

“I think that’s all,” the wizard informed them wearily, “but if he shows signs of concussion, feel free to come get me again. In the meantime, if you’d like to stay the night, the couch is available or you can join me on the bed; I tend to wake up to Jango staring at me most days, anyway.”

The brindle cat sighed and gave the older tom an exasperated look. “Marrrrr….”

Jango steadfastly ignored the attitude. He rose cautiously, testing his balance. When he found himself wavering on unsteady paws, the black tom turned and leaned hard on the wizard. A chest-deep purr rumbled.

Obi-Wan mistook the meaning; he wasn’t a mind reader and had no magical bonds to any being. “You’re welcome.”

Claws hooked the redhead’s long sleeve; Jango tugged until that arm was half under his chest, then met the human’s eyes and meowed tersely.

“Oh.” 

Brindle and tiger striped cats observed warily as the wizard hefted the older tom. It was smoothly done and clearly considerate; there was no undue jolting, not an instance of unsure balance. Kenobi cradled Jango to his chest like the feisty tom was precious, but never so tight that escape became a dubious prospect. That respect for freedom won him points all around, though the tiger striped young tom betrayed amusement at the black cat’s actions. 

“You know,” said Obi-Wan as he carried his roommate up the stairs, trailed by younger cats, “Anakin already thinks I act as your perch too often; if he saw this, neither of us would ever hear the end of it.”

“Mrrf,” grumbled Jango, flicking his ears dismissively. He rested his chin on the wizard’s arm and discovered a surprising amount of muscle; it was comfy. Almost comfy enough to distract him from his tiger striped son’s amusement.  _ Rex will pay for that,  _ he decided.  _ In the morning. _

  
  
  


Obi-Wan felt a weighted gaze on him and mumbled blearily, throwing an arm across his face. “Too early,” he mumbled.

“Mrrrowwww,” demanded a cat. 

_ Who needs an alarm when you’ve got Jango?  _ Obi-Wan managed not to say it, mostly because he turned his face into the pillow and grumbled unintelligibly. 

Jango was having none of that sleeping in habit; he jumped up to a shelf, ignored the wizard’s mumbled threats over potentially shattered breakables, sized up the distance he wanted, and jumped. 

Kenobi was starting to drift back to sleep when his roommate dropped heavily onto his barely clothed ass, claws out. “Son of a bitch!”

With one quick hiss and a swat, the tom leaped away. When he reached the doorway, Jango turned around to sit expectantly. 

_ From the tilt of his ears, he’s impatient,  _ the wizard observed, then yawned. “Fine, fine, I’m up. Stop with the claws.” 

A snort was the only response to that. 

It was no more than a few minutes later when they were both downstairs. Jango led the human to the fridge, but clearly not for food this time.

_ Familiar  _ was spelled out with his magnets. Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. “You’re asking to be my familiar?” Clarification was needed; forcing a bond often ended in terrible tragedy and the ginger preferred free choice, anyway.

Jango nodded, slow and deliberate. 

Heart full, Kenobi smiled. “I would be honored to have you as my familiar, Jango Fett. Thank you.” Looking around, he wondered, “Where have the other two cats vanished to? Will they be coming back?” 

The black tom purred and nodded. His smug air caught the redhead’s attention. 

“...they’re related to you, aren’t they?”

That rough purr intensified. 

“So, in gaining you as a familiar, I gain two new roommates. Is that it?”

Jango butted his head against the human, obviously prepared to reward good behavior. 

Obi-Wan grinned. “I suppose that works,” he agreed. “I’ve thought about getting a human roommate, but after long work days, there’s only so much I can tolerate and most people pass it without trying.” Then, somberly, “Do you want to bond now or wait for witnesses?”

A quick lash of expressive tail nixed waiting. 

“Very well.” The wizard reached into an inner robe pocket for his more portable spell knife. He hesitated as a thought occurred. “Would you rather bite or claw yourself for this, or am I rinsing the blade?” Kenobi’s smile showed he didn’t mind either way. 

The cat eyed him for a moment, then tilted head and ears slightly in consideration. A few seconds later, one paw reached out. Claws hooked the ginger’s pants and tugged once; Jango spent enough time outside to wear them down with use, so they didn’t catch when he relaxed his paw and sat to wait for Obi-Wan. 

It was a solemn occasion, despite the wizard sitting cross-legged on his own kitchen floor. Quick, clean slices with a sharp pocket knife. Shared blood, will twinned and intent on forming a bond. The sensation of something stretching, pulling,  _ snapping  _ into place. 

: _ My human, _ : the tom thought, possessive and pleased. 

Obi-Wan’s lips twitched. “Careful,” he teased. “I might just start telling people you’re my pet.”

_ Whack!  _ Jango’s paw lashed out. 

Kenobi laughed quietly, enjoying the companionship. “Pulling blows, are we? Next thing you know, you’ll  _ like  _ me!” 

: **_Do_ ** _ like you, _ : grumbled the cat. : _ Mostly. _ : 

The bond swam with satisfaction on both sides━so, of course, that was when the front door crashed open. Booted feet strode hurriedly toward them. “Obi-Wan, I want you to be the first to know: Padme’s━ _ what the fuck?!” _

Wizard and familiar traded resigned looks. The ginger sighed. “Anakin, you’re intruding.” 

“On  _ what?”  _ was the brunet’s aggrieved demand. "And what the hell is this?" 

“If I wanted to explain it right now, you wouldn’t be intruding.” A rough vibration started up; Jango thought his words amusing enough to let the interruption slide. His lap, on the other hand, now contained enough cat that Obi-Wan wasn’t getting up any time soon. 

Concerned eyes darkened. “Were you both bleeding? Did you bond a familiar  _ without me present?”  _

: _ Here now, _ : snarked Jango. 

Obi-Wan couldn’t even argue. “He asked and he didn’t want witnesses. Familiar bonds are pretty private things, anyway.” 

“Yeah, but━”

While his wizard attempted to reason with the other human, Jango considered his options. Attacking would be fun; this one flailed a lot and the yelping was also amusing. Leaving for food...not yet. Hunger wasn’t dire and wouldn’t be for a while. Ignoring the intruder might work, plus he was already in Kenobi’s lap…. Mind made up, the tom curled up with his head on one lean, deceptively strong leg. : _ Like you, _ : noted Fett as he drifted off. 

If Skywalker wasn’t gone by the time he woke up, though, all bets were off. 


End file.
